Invasion
by Gidgemeister
Summary: Starfleet has sent an army of assistants to the Enterprise.One of these assistants, who is assigned to Lt. Commander Data, is Abigail Solo. When Abby notices something sinister going on, will they be able to find out what's going on in time?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek; I'm only borrowing the characters for a little while :D

Data was walking past Captain Picard's quarters one day, when he heard the commanding voice of his captain arguing with someone. Data's interest was piqued; his captain almost always had a good reason to be yelling at this volume. However, Data's ethical codes prevented him from staying and eavesdropping, as Geordi or Will might have done. Before Data could contemplate the situation further, Picard exited his quarters and ran right into Data. Data had to keep Picard from toppling over, and when Picard was safely on both feet, he looked at Data questioningly.

"Commander Data, what are you doing out here? I thought you were getting ready for Mr. Worf's birthday party in Ten Forward."

"I was, Captain. However, Guinanasked for me to tell you that she was not able to get the streamers to stay up. She wishes to know if you will give her some assistance." Data was unsure of why Guinan had sounded so insistent on having Captain Picard help her with the streamers. Data knew he could probably do a much better job at keeping the streamers symmetrical, but he understood that there were some human traditions he did not really understand yet. Data then added, "Do you require me to do anything, sir?"

Captain Picard looked thoughtful for a moment, and then he said, "Yes, Mr. Data, I do think I may need your help with something. Do you remember Admiral Nechayev? Well, it appears she has ordered all the starships in this sector to get to the nearest space station so we could get our new 'assistants'. I still don't understand why, but all the senior officers of the bridge crew are going to be getting assistants, including you. I am guessing that this means we will be able to let the assistants do the mundane things, such as writing reports and that sort of thing. To tell you the truth, Data, I think there's too much extra confusion and work involved in all this. What do you think of the situation, Data?"

Data thought about this for a while. "Sir, I believe that you are correct in saying these assistants may be adding more confusion. However, I believe you should speak with Commander Riker and get his opinion on the matter. He may be able to help you find a more… appropriate way to handle the situation." With that, they both walked to Ten Forward to help with Worf's birthday party preparations.

At Worf's birthday party, everyone except for the guest of honor had a wonderful time celebrating, and the most exciting part of the celebration was when Guinan brought out the three-layer birthday cake. When Worf blew out the candles, a small rubber chicken popped out at him. Worf was taken by surprise, and everyone was laughing. Worfeven chuckled for a short period of time before he gave everyone the Klingon "don't go any farther or I'll be forced to bring out the Bat'leth" look.

Cadet Abigail Solo, along with the rest of her fellow students, was in a shuttle on their way to the Starship Enterprise-D. Abigail was definitely excited, because she had read so much about the Enterprise: all of the missions, first contacts, and many mishaps that had happened on the very important flagship of the Federation. Of course, Abigail also knew the dangers of serving on a starship, especially if they were to meet the Ferengi or the Romulans. But what she was most excited about was whom she was assigned to: Lt. Commander Data, the first and only android in Starfleet to date. She had read several cybernetics reports on his positronic matrix, and had been extremely happy about her being assigned to him. Her best friend, Leantro Sloan, had been assigned to Commander La Forge, who was Lea's hero.

"Hey, Abby." Lea certainly had a bad habit of interrupting someone when they were in deep thought. Of course, Abigail was almost always in deep thought. "Abby?"

"Hmm?"

"We're almost there. Are you excited? I sure am. I just hope he likes me. I mean, if he didn't… I'd be crushed, devastated…." Lea looked over at her friend, and saw that she was yet again lost in thought. "Hey, what's up with you today, Abby? As long as I've known you, you've never been as quiet as you have today. And I know you well enough to know that when you're quiet, you're either nervous or anxious. Abby, are you listening to me?"

Abigail was indeed listening, but she knew that if she kept her mouth shut, Lea would be quiet and leave her alone. However, she was having no such luck. Leantro's loud voice pierced through the whole shuttle. Everyone else turned to stare at Lea while she went on and on and on about how she was going to try to be the best assistant and how she hoped she would make new friends; she even spent eight whole minutes talking about how she would try her hardest to make a good first impression.

Finally, Abigail had had enough. "Lea! I know you're excited, but I'm trying to concentrate on not being nervous. You know how I get if I get nervous. So please, stop it with the jabbering!"

"Well," said Lea, with a hint of sarcasm in her voice, "I won't get in the way of your _thinking." _Lea then proceeded to give Abby a nasty look. For the last ten minutes of their shuttle flight, they sat in silence, not even looking at each other.

Data was looking in the mirror, making sure his dress uniform was crease-free and in place. He was wondering what type of assistant he would be receiving. He knew that he would not be letting his assistant do his paperwork; he felt that doing the paperwork himself was one of his responsibilities as a Starfleet officer. He would figure out what to have her do at another point of time.

Data was about to walk to the bridge when he saw Spot sitting on his table, looking for food. So, Data went over to the replicator and produced cat supplement #75, which he put down on the floor next to Spot's water bowl. Spot immediately jumped down from the table and started chomping down on his food, making a strange noise as he swallowed it. All of the sudden, his combadge went off.

"(chirp) Picard to Data. Are you almost ready to greet our new assistants?"

"Yes, sir. I will be there shortly."

"Alright, Mr. Data. Picard out."

"Welcome to the Enterprise." said Picard. "As you all know, you have been assigned here to be a personal assistant to a member of the senior bridge crew. Since you all know whom you are assigned to, I trust you will be able to find your assigned officer. Good day to you all."

After the speech when the new assistants were able to mingle and find their assigned officers, Abigail was trying to find Data. This wasn't really all that hard, because, well, he did stand out in a crowd of mostly humans. When she found him, she took three deep breaths, and she stepped forward. She nervously extended a hand towards Data, and tried to greet him. Before she could even begin to introduce herself, he started speaking.

"Hello," said Data "You must be my assistant."

Abby managed to speak quietly. "Yes, I am. My name is Abigail Solo. I just recently graduated from the Academy. I majored in engineering."

"Hello, Ms. Abigail Solo, I am Lt. Commander Data. I admit I am not exactly sure how I would require your help; I am more than capable of doing all my duties without needing assistance. I believe I could allow you to observe and assist in engineering, seeing as most of my time on duty is split between engineering and the bridge. "

Abby smiled slightly. "I think that's a great idea, Commander. I heard that you have a cat, Spot, and I was thinking, if it was alright with you, I might be able to help "babysit" him?"

Data's face brightened. "I believe that will be acceptable; perhaps the reason he lashes out at other people is he is lonely, and I do not give him enough attention."

Just then, Leantro ran over, being her typical Lea self.

"ABBY! Mr. La Forge told me to call him GEORDI. I could just die, I mean, wow!" she then noticed Data standing there, and then she stretched her hand out. "Oh, Mr. Data! I've read all about you, you're so famous back at the Academy! So is Geordi. Is it true that you guys are best friends? Omygosh, Commander Riker! Over there! Later!" she waved behind her after she ran over to give Commander Riker a big hug. Worf had to restrain himself from going to protect Riker, and after a short period of time, he himself was the victim of a hug attack.

"If you couldn't tell, most people call me Abby."

"I see. If it makes you more comfortable, you may call me Data."

When Abby looked back on those few months on the Enterprise, she always remembered how that moment was one of the happiest.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I still don't own Star Trek: The Next Generation... though I wish I did!

The next day, Lt. Commander Data showed Abby around his quarters, demonstrating how she was to feed and care for Spot. He explained in great detail how Spot had escaped and attacked most of his previous caretakers, except for himself and Mr. Barclay.

Abby looked down at her schedule. "Data, I'm sure Spot and I will be fine. I think you should hurry or you might be late for Bridge duty."

Data looked at Abby for a second. "Abby, thank you for reminding me of that. However, it is tomorrow that I must be on the bridge earlier."

Abby looked confused and embarrassed for a second, then she looked at her schedule. "You're absolutely right, Data. I had been looking at tomorrow's schedule. Which reminds me, Data, are you sure it's okay with Geordi if I go over to engineering later to help out? I really don't want to bother him, especially if he's busy."

"I have already discussed the matter with him, and I am quite sure you will not be in the way. Geordi may ask for your assistance, so you may continue working on your engineering skills."

After Data giving Abby Spot's food likes and dislikes and telling her when Geordi was expecting her, he left for Bridge duty. The room became very quiet for a couple minutes, something that Abby took to mean Spot was about to get into mischief. She looked around, wondering if Spot was going to attack her from behind. She looked down at her feet, and saw Spot sniffing her. "A security check. How quaint." She mumbled. She walked over to the couch, sat down, and sighed.

"Well, Spot, what do you want to do now?"

Spot jumped onto the couch and watched Abigail meaningfully. Abby thought Spot might want her to pet him, so she reached her hand out. Spot sniffed for a second, and then he chomped down extremely hard. Abby shrieked in pain, scaring the cat. When she had recovered from the attack, she saw Spot standing by the replicator.

"Well, I guess you're hungry. Replicator, please produce cat supplement one hundred seventy nine."

Abby then crossed the room to get to the cat food, and she set it down for Spot. Spot sniffed, and then he started eating hungrily.

"(Chirp) Cadet Sloan to Cadet Solo. Abby, what are you doing today? I'm helping Geordi check the warp coil. He's extremely nice! I'm still so excited, Abby! This is like all our dreams come true!"

"Lea, I'm glad that you're excited, and I'm excited too, but I'm nursing an injury right now. Can I talk to you later?"

"AN INJURY? Omygosh, what happened? Should I call security?"

"No, Lea, it's just Spot. I guess he doesn't like people petting him when he's hungry."

"Oh. Okay, then. I'll see you at Ten Forward later! Sloan out!"

Abby heaved a huge sigh of relief. She wondered when Lea would stop calling her to ask unimportant questions like that. Looking down at her hand, she noticed her hand had started bleeding, and not wanting to risk infection, she made her way to Sickbay.

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"Well, Ms. Solo, it looks like it's all healed to me. You're one of the lucky ones; usually, Spot doesn't just bite, he attacks you until you're begging for mercy."

Dr. Crusher was finishing examining Abby's hand when one of the nurses called her over to see something. While Abby was waiting for the OK to go, she saw one of her fellow Cadets, a Rosie Giani, sorting through medical files. Before she could ask Rosie what she was doing, Dr. Crusher told Abby she could go.

While Abby was on her way back to Data's quarters, she noticed that Rosie was following her. Abby was sure Rosie wasn't doing it on purpose, but she still had an eerie feeling, like in one of those mystery books she had read when she was little. Abby soon found that she was at Data's quarters, so she entered. She waited for several minutes, hoping that Rosie wouldn't ring on the doorbell.

"Abby?"

Abby turned around, startled. Data was sitting on his couch, petting Spot. "Yes, Data?"

"You seem unsettled by something. Perhaps if you told me about it, you would no longer be uncomfortable."

"Data, I'm alright. I was just walking here and I thought someone was following me. I was mistaken, though."

Data had a concerned look on his face. "Abby, if someone was following you, you must tell them to stop."

"Data, I'm alright, really." Abby, in desperate want to change the subject, told Data that Spot had bitten her. Data then scolded Spot, and set Spot on his bed.

Several quiet minutes passed by. Abby looked down at her schedule, and saw that someone had tampered with it. It said that Abby had to go onto the Bridge on the same shift as Data.

"Data?"

"Yes, Abby?"

"Did you change my schedule?"

"No, I did not. Why do you ask?"

"Because apparently I'm on Bridge Duty."

Data looked at the schedule for a period of time, and then he said, "I believe I will need to speak with Captain Picard on this matter."

"Data, if I'm set for the same shift as you, I think we should fix it as soon as possible! I think I could be of better service to you if I'm working elsewhere while you're on the Bridge."

Data nodded, and then they left for the Captain's ready room. After they had left, Spot jumped off of Data's bed and onto the work area. There, he walked on the buttons for several minutes, and then he sat down again. Somewhere on the Enterprise, Lea had just been given a strange list of numbers and letters.

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After Data and Abby had fixed Abby's schedule, they decided to head to Ten Forward to talk about what Abby was to do when she wasn't watching Spot. When they arrived at Ten Forward, several of the Cadets stared for a second, and then they continued talking. Abby sat down at the bar with Data, and Guinan walked over to get their orders. Abby ordered a glass of water, and Data ordered a chocolate sundae. When Guinan left to go get their orders, Abby gave Data a curious look.

"Data, why a chocolate sundae?"

"Counselor Troi has explained to me in great detail that she believes chocolate to be a very enjoyable food."

"So you're going to see why she likes it so much?"

"Yes, Abby."

Guinan then returned with Abby's water and Data's chocolate sundae. Trying to show that she was interested in how Data was going to react to his sundae, she watched him intently. Right before Data put a spoonful of the dessert in his mouth, Lea tapped her on the shoulder extremely hard. Abby was startled, and when she looked back at Data, he had swallowed his first spoonful and was getting a second.

"Abby?" Lea was still apparently trying to get Abby's attention.

"Yes, Lea?"

"How's your injury? I was concerned when you said you were hurt."

"My hand's okay now, Spot's just a grumpy little booger, that's all. Would you like to join us?"

"Oh, no thank you, I have to study some warp core techno-papers and documents. I'll talk to you later, though. Bye!"

Lea walked away, and Abby noticed that her friend hadn't been as cheerful as she usually was. '_Well_,' she thought, '_it's our first day here; she's probably just tired. I'll talk to her later about it_.'

"Abby?" Data had noticed that Abby seemed in deep thought, and he was curious.

Abby looked at Data. He had just the slightest bit of chocolate syrup on the corners of his mouth. With that and the serious expression combined, it made for a surprisingly humorous effect. While Abby chuckled to herself, she saw Data looking extremely confused.

"Data, you have a little chocolate on your mouth." Data wiped his mouth clean and then he started to say something. That is, until Commander Riker and Geordi walked in.

"Hey, Data!" said Riker. "What are you two talking about?"

"Abby and I came to Ten Forward after we fixed her schedule. Apparently, someone put her on bridge duty."

Abby turned to Geordi, "I'm so sorry I didn't get to engineering when I was supposed to, Geordi; I'll be there first thing tomorrow to make up for it."

"It's fine, Abby. Actually, there really wasn't much to do today. Tomorrow we'll be working on the warp core, so I may need your help then."

After a while, Abby decided she'd better go feed Spot again before checking in with Lea, so she quietly excused herself.

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Not too much later, Deanna and Beverly came over and started talking to Data, Geordi, and Will about their new assistants. When it was Data's turn to speak, he said that Abby was a very nice person to talk to. He then talked about how she had been injured while taking care of Spot.

"Just a little bite? I wish I have the same luck as she did the next time I get to watch Spot!" proclaimed Commander Riker.

"Commander, if our assistants are permanent residents of the Enterprise, I believe Spot will be very content in Abby's care." Data said, "Abby seems like a very capable young Cadet."

Data stayed for a little while longer to listen to his friends talk, and then he decided to return to his quarters to activate one of his dream programs. When he arrived at his quarters, he heard a loud clanging noise and a meow. He burst through the door to see that Spot had knocked Data's easel over, and saw Spot almost ready to pounce on Abby's unsuspecting head. Data then noticed that Abby seemed to be sleeping very peacefully on the couch.

Abby awoke when she felt Data trying to get Spot off of her head. She looked up, and saw Data set Spot on the bed. "Data! I'm so sorry, I didn't think I'd fall asleep like that."

"It's quite alright, Abby. Perhaps I should escort you to your quarters, so you will not get lost."

"Thanks, Data."


End file.
